Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

The Marked Men of 2010 Tour

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The Marked Men of 2010 tour is set to span 35 dates in 2 months and feature The Fall of Troy, Envy On The Coast, and Twin Atlantic. This will be the last tour for The Fall of Troy before they go their separate ways. The Marked Men Tour will also stop off in Austin for this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) festival.

Right now you can visit www.themarkedmenof2010.com and sign up you will receive free MP3 downloads from each of the band’s participating in the tour.

THE MARKED MEN OF 2010 TOUR DATE

3/6 ROCKFORD, IL House Cafe
3/7 INDIANAPOLIS IN Emerson Theater
3/9 COVINGTON, KY Mad Hatter
3/10 NASHVILLE, TN
3/11 ATLANTA, GA Masquerade
3/12 ST. PETERSBURG, FL Orpheum
3/13 ORLANDO, FL The Social
3/14 MOBILE, AL Mobile Music Box
3/15 METAIRIE, LA High Ground
3/17 MISSION, TX Never Say Never Fest
3/18 AUSTIN, TX SXSW
3/19 AUSTIN, TX SXSW
3/20 DALLAS, TX The Door
3/21 SAN ANTONIO, TX White Rabbits
3/23 PHOENIX, AZ Martini Ranch
3/25 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA Downtown Brew
3/26 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Slim’s
3/27 ANAHEIM, CA Bamboozle
3/30 PORTLAND, OR Hawthorne Theatre
3/31 SEATTLE, WA El Corazon
4/1 VANCOUVER, BC Rickshaw
4/3 SALT LAKE CITY, UT Murray Theatre
4/4 DENVER, CO Marquis Theatre
4/6 LAWRENCE, KS Bottleneck
4/7 DES MOINES, IA House Of Bricks
4/8 MINNEAPOLIS, MN Triple Rock
4/9 CHICAGO, IL Subterranean
4/10 CLEVELAND, OH Grog Shop
4/11 GRAND RAPIDS, MI Intersection
4/13 PITTSBURGH, PA Diesel
4/14 BUFFALO, NY Mohawk
4/15 TORONTO, ON Annex Wreck Room
4/16 MONTREAL, QC Underworld
4/17 SYRACUSE, NY Lost Horizon
4/18 ALBANY, NY Valentine’s

Thursday Announce Fall Tour

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Thursday have announced their headlining fall US tour in support of their critically acclaimed new album Common Existence. The band will cross the country over Sept and Oct with experimental prog-group The Fall of Troy in main support and select dates with noise-rockers Young Widows and prog-rock band The Dear Hunter. Ticket pre-sales will be offered through Thursday’s Doves Club at Artist Arena beginning July 30; public on-sales will begin August 7.

Thursday Tour Dates:

9/18 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & Moving Mountains)
9/19 – Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows, Moving Mountains & Kiss Kiss)
9/20 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows, Moving Mountains & Kiss Kiss)
9/22 – Headliner’s Music Hall – Louisville, KY (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/23 – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/25 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/26 – Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, W (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/28 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/29 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
9/30 – The Flytrap – Tulsa, OK (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
10/1 – Granada – Lawrence, KS (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
10/2 – Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
10/3 – In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT (w/ The Fall of Troy, Young Widows & La Dispute)
10/5 – Neumo’s – Seattle, WA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/6 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/8 – The Boardwalk – Orangevale, CA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/9 – Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter)
10/11 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/12 – Glasshouse – Pomona, CA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/13 – The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/15 – The Door – Dallas, TX (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/16 – Emo’s – Austin, TX (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/17 – Meridian – Houston, TX (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Touche Amore)
10/19 – Edge 17 – Jacksonville, FL (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)
10/20 – Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)
10/21 – State Theatre – St. Petersburg, FL (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)
10/22 – The Social – Orlando, FL (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)
10/23 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)
10/24 – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC (w/ The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, Midnight Masses)

The Fall of Troy – Manipulator

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The Fall of Troy

Artist: The Fall of Troy
Album: Manipulator
Label: Equal Vision Records
Purchase: SmartPunk
Release Date: May 1st, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 10
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 9.0

It’s almost seven thirty in the evening and my feet are cold after walking outside without any shoes on. The house is silent and empty, like a pirate ship sitting at the bottom of the ocean. The sun is disappearing and the glow from the television is radiating into the living room. My headphones are placed over my ears and the sudden ensemble of a three-piece band enters my left and right eardrum. I am now descending into a brightly lit cave with a new sensation of musical brilliance sitting in the center, waiting to be discovered.

Records tend to be overly anticipated and when the record is released, everyone is let down and left in a state of perplexity. The Fall of Troy created a name for themselves with the impressive guitar work, catchy chorus, in your face screaming, and melodic screaming. With two releases under their belt, the band has a cult following with message boards overflowing with speculation and gossip from fans of all walks of life. “Manipulator” was a familiar word in the fans’ vocabulary and the hype was overpowering. The record was released and the hype was over. “Manipulator” is a work of masterpiece that is both career-defining and impressive.

The Fall of Troy still incorporates their familiar elements, but they have progressed, matured, and overall grown as musicians. It’s as if the band decided to throw all the genres this world has seen into a bag, shook it up to make sure a mixture is created, and spilled the contents on the recording equipment. There is everything from a little jazz to fast-paced, catchy melodies that will wrap its arms around your memory for weeks.

“Manipulator” is a progression of The Fall of Troy’s last two releases, but also showcases what they are capable of. The heavy parts are heavier. The melodic parts are catchier. After listening to the record, you begin to realizing that a band doesn’t need eight members to have a full-sounding record. The Fall of Troy has three solid members. Three members that are above most bands in talent and creativity. The singing has improved and is a lot cleaner. The screams have a wide range and are a lot heavier. Some lyrics will make you laugh, other lyrics will make you sit down, reread them, and think about what they mean.

The Fall of Troy has become one of those bands that fans can easily identify because of their unique sound. The band is ahead of the curve and doing something most bands are too terrified to do. The Fall of Troy is making the music that they want to, but also putting every ounce of creativity into the riffs, beats, yells, and singing. “Manipulator” is a perfect example of what music should sound like, with enough experimentation to drown the state of California.

The Fall of Troy’s “Manipulator” is impressive, first-rate, and shaping out to be a cult classic. The songs are catchy and diverse, leaving you wanting to replay the entire record all over again. “Manipulator” is like the Chipotle burrito you eat after eating peanut butter sandwiches for eighteen years straight. Refreshing and so filling.

Track Listing
1. Cut Down All The Trees And Name The Streets After Them
2. The Dark Trail
3. Quarter Past
4. Problem!?
5. Semi-Fiction
6. Oh, The Casino!
7. Sledgehammer
8. Seattlantis
9. Ex-Creations
10. Shhh! If You’re Quiet I’ll Show You A Dinosaur
11. Caught Up
12. A Man A Plan a Canal-Panama

Albums In Stores Tomorrow 5-1-07

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Here are some albums hitting stores tomorrow.

The Fall Of Troy – Manipulator
Mad Caddies – Keep It Going
The Spill Canvas – Denial Feels So Good
Acute – Arms Around A Stranger
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81
The Sound of Animals Fighting – We Must Become The Change We… DVD

The Fall of Troy Interview(2) – February 2nd, 2007

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The Fall of Troy

This Fall of Troy interview was conducted on February 2nd, 2007 at Alley Katz after the show. I would like to thank Andrew for sitting down with me again to do a follow up interview and being one of the nicest dudes I’ve met. Make sure to pick up their new record in May and attend one of their shows, which will end up being the craziest show you’ve been to.

– State your name and position in the band.

I am Andrew, drummer extraordinaire in The Fall of Troy.

– How would you compare the shows and bands on this tour to other tours?

I think this tour has probably one of the most solid lineups, out of any tour we’ve ever done. I’m not saying that other tours suck, but this one, I watch every band, all night, every night. It’s been a real pleasure, and we got to pick Portugal and Tera Melos. We really didn’t know Dameria, like we haven’t heard them. But they just got signed to Equal Vision, so we’re like “Yeah, we’ll take them out.” And they are the most pleasant surprise at all, because they’re killer. I like them a lot. So yeah, I love this tour.

– What upcoming tours are you looking forward to the most?

I can’t really talk about anything, but there is some big shit in the works.

What are you guys doing after this tour?

We’re going to go home for maybe a month, maybe less. Than we’re going to be back out, hopefully in a month and half. We want to, we’re going to be touring pretty much for the next year. We might do Warped Tour this year, I’m not entirely sure. We might be going out with a pretty big band, that I really respect. Just keep your ears open. I’ll tell you later man, I just can’t leak that shit.

– What has been the most shocking thing you have seen during a show?

Um, trying to think. I mean, I’ve never seen it, but kids have gotten arrested in the middle of our shows. One kid broke his leg, one time. I know it happens, but I’m so far in the back, so I don’t really get to see it all. I’m sure Thomas has seen some fucking crazy stuff.

– How did the recording for the new record go and what new and old elements can be seen on it?

I had probably the best time recording this one. Matt Bayles is probably one of my favorite producers, and than it turned out that he is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. And he’s really strict and he pushed us a lot, it was a really good experience for us. As far as how it sounds, I’ll say more of the same, not more of the same, but us, just like bigger. There is a lot more melody I’ll say, there is a little bit more singing than in the past. There are still typical crazy Fall of Troy parts, but than there is a song that only Thomas plays. He played that song tonight, kind of like old Weezer, and than the blues song that we played tonight. I mean, I’ll just say that it’s a pretty diverse album. I hope people aren’t “Aw, they are trying new things”.

– You guys are known for getting song titles from various resources, what are some song titles from the upcoming record and where did they come from?

One of them is “Cut Down All The Trees And Name The Streets After Them.” Actually, it’s a bumper sticker that we saw, and the whole title is “Urban Sprawl – Cut Down All The Trees And Name The Streets After Them” and we just thought it was cool. I mean, there are a lot of songs on this record that are pretty serious titles, like “Semi-Fiction”, that’s one of them and “Caught Up.” We definitely have some like, “Shhh… If You’re Quiet, I’ll Show You a Dinosaur”, that are kind of funny. I’m not saying that we are never going to have long, funny titles again, but on this record, we came up with shorter ones.

– Has the artwork for the new record been chosen? If so, who is doing it and what can we expect?

It hasn’t been chosen yet, but there are a couple of people working on it right now. Tim is working on some stuff, Brandon from Fear Before is working on some stuff, John Gourley from Portugal The Man, the singer, is working on some stuff. They’re all coming up with completely different things, I’m not exactly sure what they are doing. I don’t know, I’m sorry dude, haha.

– What is the idea behind “Manipulator” and “Phantom of the Horizon”, and how are they different from each other?

“Manipulator” is more of a collection of songs, there isn’t one underlying theme. “Phantom of the Horizon” is a story that we thought about when we were younger that we have just been sitting on for a bit. It’s a context record.

Is it going to have stuff from the Ghostship Demos?

Yeah, I mean we are going to rerecord all those songs, probably with some new stuff here and there, so people aren’t like “Ah, it’s exactly the same.”

I was on the message board today to get some ideas for questions and everyone kept talking about what is going to happen to those demos.

Yeah, it’s going to be all rerecorded. We are going to have, I think there are two or three songs that never officially came out, and than we are going to write three more. But there will be a lot of new stuff you haven’t heard on it.

Is that coming out this year?

No, that will be probably next year or like super super early ’09, but I doubt it will be that long. Hopefully we’re shooting for end of ’08 or third quarter of it.

– How would you sum up 2006 and what are you wishing to accomplish in 2007?

2006 was turbulent and awesome. And than 2007, I just want to continue doing what we are doing and keep our integrity, and hopefully get bigger. Getting new fans, I mean, tonight was awesome, like 400 plus kids going nuts. It was really fun. I just want to keep on keeping on.

– If the band was nominated for an award, what award would you want it to be and why?

Oh man, “Best Picture” for an awesome movie that we did, but I doubt that will ever happen, haha.

– What is your opinion on the current state of shows and the things people decide to do at them?

I mean, it’s always good to see kids going crazy and losing it, but at the same time you have to respect that there are people around you, they might not want to have your foot in their face. I mean, if everyone is into it and everyone is crowd surfing, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen happen, but there is always some kid that does it. I like it when kids lose it, but I never liked getting kicked in the face.

There are always some people on the side that end up getting kicked in the face.

Yeah man. I mean, it’s a bummer to go to a show and come out with an injury. It’s one thing to go to a show and crowd surfing and someone dropping you, that’s fucking your fault. If you get kicked in the head and you pass out because of someone else, that’s not cool. Above all us, treat people like you want to be treated. That’s what I think.

– What are some rumors about the band that are you tired of hearing and want to clear up?

Um, I don’t know. I think sometimes kids think we are really well off and have a lot of money, that’s totally the opposite. We’re poor, that’s all. I don’t really worry about them too much, I know what the true story is.

– What are some broken-up bands you wish would get back together and play a reunion show?

Bear vs. Shark and Botch, those are probably my top two.

Didn’t the guy that produce your record produce Botch?

Yeah, he is like best friends with the main guitar player from Botch. But yeah, he’s awesome. It’s cool to talk about old stories about them.

– If you had to choose a group of bands to play the same tour for the rest of your life, what bands would you choose and why?

Probably Fear Before The March of Flames, Tera Melos, and like, I’m just going to go ahead and say Portugal because they are freaking awesome. I mean, those are all really good bands and I think we would have a good time.

If the band was chosen to make a new government and set of laws for the United States, what would some of the laws be?

Everyone has to at least try playing an instrument, haha. You can’t hate music. And everyone be nice. That’s my personal one.

– Has the idea of adding another member come up and what are some of the reasons why you would or wouldn’t do it?

I mean, we’ve had other members in the past, like a keyboard player. We would do it just to fill out the sound a little bit more, making it a little bit crazier. I mean, I really like the fact that we are a three piece and there is not a whole lot of other three pieces out there doing stuff exactly like what we are doing.

Yeah, and sounding so technical and so filled.

Yeah man, I mean Tera Melos is doing a great job as well, they are fucking huge sounding. Yeah, I’ll say that, those are my reasons.

– Anything else you want the readers to know?

Keep on coming out to shows if you have been and if you haven’t come out to see us because I guarantee that you’ll have a good time. Check out the new album, it’s coming out May 1st called “Manipulator” on Equal Vision and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.

Tonight On DJ Rossstar

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Tune in tonight, Wednesday, January 24th 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a live phone interview with The Fall Of Troy and an in studio interview Big City Rock on DJ Rossstar’s Punk Rock Show. You can tune in, worldwide at www.idobiradio.com. Send questions to the screen name: Staridobi to be answered on air.Ԛ  Add myspace.com/djrossstar for more info.

The Fall of Portugal

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Portugal, the Man will be going out on tour with The Fall of Troy, Damiera and Teros Melos.

01.18.07 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
01.19.07 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
01.20.07 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
01.21.07 – Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
01.22.07 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
01.23.07 – El Paso, TX @ Chics Bar & Billiards
01.25.07 – Houston, TX @ Walters on Washington
01.26.07 – Dallas, TX @ The Door
01.27.07 – San Antonio, TX @ The Sanctuary
01.30.07 – Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
01.31.07 – Jacksonville, FL @ The Imperial
02.01.07 – Charlotte, NC @ The Casbah @ Tremont Music Hall
02.02.07 – Richmond, VA @ Alley Katz
02.03.07 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
02.04.07 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
02.06.07 – Worcester, MA @ Upstairs @ The Palladium
02.07.07 – South Hackensack, NJ @ School of Rock
02.08.07 – Troy, NY @ Revolution Hall
02.09.07 – Buffalo, NY @ The Buffalo Icon
02.10.07 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
02.11.07 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys Down Under
02.12.07 – Burbank, IL @ Champs
02.13.07 – Iowa City, IA @ Picador
02.14.07 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Loft
02.15.07 – Kansas City, MO @ Grand Emporium
02.16.07 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre

The Fall Of Troy Interview – June 24th, 2006

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The Fall of Troy

Andrew: That is like the smallest fucking recorder I have ever seen. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s cool.

– Haha, yeah. State your name and position in the band.

Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m Andrew, and I play drums in Fall of Troy.

– Give a brief history of the band and the origin of the name.

We just flipped through a history book and picked, like we had a name before that and thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s how we did that. So, letâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s do it again.

– What have been your best and worst moments of this tour?

Just like any show, where kids are having a good time. But like the worst, our trailer axle broke, people had some personal problems (not related to the band) that effected our motivation as far as playing shows. This has probably been the most stressful Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve ever been on.

Good thing itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s almost over.

I mean, it sucks though because I love everyone on the tour, like everything that has happened has been, not related to music or anybody in the bandsâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ relationships. So itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s just really frustrating. But itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll be alright, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll fucking play some new songs or something.

– What elements do you try to bring to each show to set you apart from the rest of the bands?

Just try to fucking, like a bunch of people paid a bunch of money to come see you, you should probably show them that you are at least trying to work and give them a good show. I just try to play as hard as I can, fucking rock out and let kids get into it.

– If you could pick one show that made you feel accomplished of everything you have done, which would it be and why?

Um, playing Bamboozle was really cool. 7 or 8 thousand people there and that was like, insane. Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve never played for anymore than 1500 so that was weird. I mean, it blows my mind that Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m fucking in Virginia and there are people here that know who we are. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s weird.

Is this the first time you guys have played in Virginia?

Nah, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve played at the Peppermint.

Yeah, with Spitfire right?

Yeah, I think we played with some local bands. I canâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t remember, I think it was on the Number Twelve tour. I like Virginia, itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s fun man.

– When starting this band, what were your goals and how have they changed?

I mean, we were just having fun and challenging ourselves. Like the music we played before this wasnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t very challenging, it was very poppy. Just play music with people we like, hopefully other people will like it too.

(Tim Ward from Fall of Troy opens the driverâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s door of the van)

Tim: I wish I was tough like Russians. Russians are fucking tough.
Andrew: Haha, this has happened with like every interview.
Tim: I want some goddamn boy Russian friends and I want a Russian girlfriend.
Andrew: Dude, remember that guy we met from Russia?
Tim: Yeah, man.
Andrew: We met him in New York and he was like â┚¬Ã…”(speaks with a Russian accent) Hi, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m from Russia, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m moving here for the summer.â┚¬? Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m like â┚¬Ã…”Dude, thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s awesome.â┚¬? Then heâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s like â┚¬Ã…” Russia likes you guys, why havenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t you come there?â┚¬?
Tim: His name was Uri or Alexia or Vladimir.
Andrew: Anyways, Russia was our inspiration, haha.
Tim: Russia is intense. I just read about that shit man. People get drunk off of cologne.
Andrew: You just drunk off of like 2 or 3 packs of Blue Ribbon.

– What hardships did you encounter when starting the band and how did you get through them?

Um I mean, just like at first just getting shows. We didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t even think about playing a show for like 3 or 4 months.

I read somewhere that you guys were 17 years old when the band started.

Yeah, I was 16 and so was Tim and Thomas. We used to have another guitar player and he was 17. It was just like â┚¬Ã…”Hey, how are we going to get our gear from so and soâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s house to practice.â┚¬? As it moves on, we obviously want to put on a good show and try to make stuff work with us, like personally because itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s tough. We were friends before this actually, we tried to make it into a business, so I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know. Shit has gotten mixed up, but itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s cool.

– Are there any plans to go into the studio and recording the next record?

Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re going to be writing for like the next two months, as soon as this tour is done. We have like four songs right now, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll hopefully be recording in September or October, to be out like January. I know people want to hear it.

– How would you compare and contrast how the band sounded in the beginning and how it sounds now?

I think we got tougher. I mean, the melody is still there and stuff. I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know, I think weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve just become more of ourselves.

– In your opinion, which song on the last record best defines the band the most?

Um, probably off the last record, â┚¬Ã…” The Holy Tapeâ┚¬? or maybe â┚¬Ã…”Macaulay McCulkinâ┚¬?. One of those, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re just fucking weirdos.

– If you had to quit this band and join another one, which one would it be and why?

Um, thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s tough. Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢d love to be in He Is Legend, thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll be fun, they have good songs. I really donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know, I mean if we are talking about anybody anywhere, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll probably say The Beatles. The songs arenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t too hard but theyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re still fun to play. They had a lot of success but that kind of ruins, I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know, success isnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t really everything, itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s kind of weird.

– If you could overhear people talking about the band, what do you think you would hear?

I hope I would hear, â┚¬Ã…”Man that was fucking crazyâ┚¬? or â┚¬Ã…”I didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t expect that.â┚¬? I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m sure people would, thereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s haters and thereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s lovers. Everyone is going to have their own opinion, kids probably say that every song has a guitar solo, but whatever, you can also say that you like that.

– In your opinion, what is the biggest current issue people are overlooking?

With everything?

Yeah, just in general.

I wish people would be more aware of what our country is doing and like putting us, regardless of what you think when the U.S. does something, it reflects on everybody else. I mean, no oneâ┚¬Ã‚¦I mean, I wish people would stay up to date with current events more, and itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s kind of stupid for me to say that because Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m on tour and itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s really hard, like I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t see the news everyday. I mean, get over retarded stuff like gay marriages and fucking try figuring out whatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s really important.

Exactly, people are worrying about that when there is so much crap going on in every city.

Yeah dude, people are getting tortured, there are people that in this alley tonight that needed help and people are arguing about two guys getting married; fucking get over it.

Yeah, they arenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t hurting anyone, so that’s not an issue.

Yeah, itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s notâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬Ã‚¦haha this could be a long night. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s all good.

– If you could choose a writer, dead or alive to write the lyrics for the next record, who would you choose and why?

Um, alive I would pick this guy, Mark Danielewski, he wrote this book called â┚¬Ã…”House of Leavesâ┚¬?, itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s just terrifying. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s cool, we have some song titles from it. Dead, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll probably pick this dude named Richard (couldnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t make out the last name). He wrote really simple but he had great ideas. Yeah, either one of those.

– If you could choose one quote to be written on your tombstone, what would it be and why?

Fucking, umâ┚¬Ã‚¦.I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t know, thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a tough one. Right now in my life, if I died right now, it would be â┚¬Ã…”Play Harder, Play Faster.â┚¬?

– What are the best and worst aspects about being in a band?

The best is just traveling and meeting people and doing shit like this. Like a variety stuff on life, when youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re touring you get to see something different everyday. But the worst part, I mean, I live in a van and I have for the last year. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s ok, I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t really mind it.

Yeah, you get by.

Yeah, fucking like, whenever I get bummed out, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m like â┚¬Ã…”No one I know is doing this, how can I beâ┚¬Ã‚¦

Yeah, people are just at home doing nothing while youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re touring.

Yeah, exactly. Like everyone I know from high school is either in one place, like going to college or at home. No one I know is doing this so itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s special and itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s something that I wanted so, I have to put up with some bullshit and realize that itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s actually cool.

– Anything else you want the readers to know.

Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re not breaking up, the album will be out soon.

Yeah, I read about that on your myspace about people thinking the band is going to break up.

Yeah, I mean I can totally understand, like this tour has been a messed. Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve canceled a bunch of shows and I know kids are pissed off, it sucks but just bare with us weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll come back. Like Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m sure youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve had days where you didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t go to school. 99 percent of people miss days from their life and it sucks but you get over it. Just stick with us, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re not dead.